The 29-year-old, from Roath in Cardiff, suffered two broken arms and had his right leg so badly damaged it required a bone graft after an horrific motorcyle crash which occurred as he returned from a night out with friends in Porthcawl in September 2012.

He also sustained fractured cheek bones and eye sockets, while his upper jaw and skull were smashed.

But now, nearly a year-and-a-half later, the former barman is celebrating having the last of his facial injuries finally fixed thanks to amazing 3D technology.

The dad underwent a pioneering eight-hour procedure at Morriston Hospital in Swansea where staff had laboured since late last year scanning 3D images of his face in order to ascertain how best to reassemble his shattered left cheek and eye socket.

By using 3D printing they produced virtual models of his cranium along with the medical-grade titanium implants designed to hold his bones in place.

“We’d already done a pretty good job with Stephen’s facial injuries but the ophthalmologists had warned us off doing anything that might damage his sight further,” said Adrian Sugar, consultant maxillofacial surgeon at Morriston – where Stephen was rushed for emergency treatment on the night of the accident.

“As a result, we did not get his left cheekbone in the right place or attempt to reconstruct the very thin bones around his eye socket.

“And, because his cheekbone was too far out, his eye ended up appearing sunken and dropped.”

However late last year plans were put into action to surgically restore the symmetry to Stephen’s face by the Centre for Applied Reconstructive Technologies in Surgery, a partnership between Morriston’s Maxillofacial Unit and the National Centre for Product Design and Development Research at Cardiff Metropolitan University.

“Stephen had a very complex injury and correcting it involved bones having to be re-cut into several fragments,” added Mr Sugar.

“Being able to do that and put them back in the right position was to be a complex three-dimensional exercise.

“So we did two types of model planning – of the virtual kind on a computer screen and physical model planning.

“Also we produced guides at each stage of the surgical process, not only to cut the bones but to reposition them – then we had custom implants 3D printed.

“Without this advanced technology, it’s all freehand – you just have to guess where everything goes.

“Instead, we can be far more precise and get a better result for the patient.”

Mr Sugar said he was pleased with the results of the surgery, adding: “Stephen’s eye is now a little bit raised but that might settle over the next few months.

“Apart from that his cheekbone is in a good position and the prominence of the eye is much better.”

Mr Power, whose vision has mostly recovered, said the results have been a huge boost to his self-confidence.

“Now I won’t have to hide my face away and can do everyday things like going for walks,” he said.

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